Recently, robots with articulable appendages or arms have seen increasing use. One reason is that robots have manipulative arms which are able to perform certain routine manual or manipulative tasks using accessories such as tools in an efficient and precise manner. For example, robots have shown dexterity in performing such exemplary tasks as robot welding, painting, deburring, routing and tasks or work on objects involving close tolerances such as, e.g., the insertion of a pin into a bore.
It is highly desirable to enable the robot to perform as many tasks, using as many tools, as possible in a given time period. Efficiency can be increased, therefore, by providing a fast and simple method enabling the robot to pick up, use and put down any number to tools.
In one method, tools are directly mounted to a plate on the robot. While this method is satisfactory if only one tool is to be used by the robot, it is unsatisfactory if a number of tools are to be used in rapid succession. Clearly, the interchanging of tools by bolting and unbolting each tool is time consuming and potentially complicated.
General purpose tool grippers have also been used with robots. However, conventional grippers limit the size of the tools capable of use by the robot. Further, the air and/or electrical connections necessary to power and control the tools are difficult to make in an automatic and efficient manner.